The present disclosure relates to an optical communication system, a transmission apparatus, a reception apparatus, and a transmission and reception system.
As information-oriented society has developed in recent years, the amounts of information (amounts of data and amounts signals) handled by information processing apparatuses such as personal computers (PCs), servers, and the like have explosively increased. According to such increases in data amounts, the need to transfer more data at higher speeds in data transmission and reception performed between apparatuses, devices, or chips has grown. Hence, as a data transfer technology that replaces data transfer technologies using electrical signals (electrical signal communication technology or electrical interconnect technology) of the related art, an optical communication technology (or an optical interconnect technology) in which electrical signals are modulated into light and data transmission and reception is performed using the light has been proposed.
In the optical communication technology, light propagates between apparatuses using light guide members, for example, optical fibers, or the like. Here, with regard to connection of optical fibers and an input and output module for optical communication, it is preferable that the center axis including the core portion of the optical fiber be connected to the optical axis of emitted light or incident light of the module so as to coincide therewith. In addition, with regard to connection between the optical fibers, it is preferable that the center axes of the optical fibers be connected to each other so as to coincide with each other. If an amount of deviation between the axes increases, an amount of light loss occurring on the connection face between the optical fiber and the module, or the connection face between the optical fibers (a connection loss) increases, and thus there is a possibility of lowering efficiency in optical communication.
Thus, as a structure of a connector that is used in connection of optical fibers which enables a connection loss to be further reduced, a connector whose tip is provided with lenses has been proposed. In connection between optical fibers using such a connector, lenses thereof are connected facing each other. In a connector on a transmission side, light that is guided through optical fibers is diffused by lenses and then emitted toward lenses of another connector that it faces. In the connector on a reception side, light is collected on an end face of optical fibers by the lenses, and then is incident on the optical fibers. Since light is collected on the end face of the optical fibers by the lenses provided at the tip of a connector with the lenses in this manner, it is possible to reduce a connection loss even when accuracy in alignment of the center axes of the optical fibers is relatively low. For example, JP 2008-535037A discloses a technology with respect to a connector in which a lens substrate on which a lens array is formed is connected to a tip of a housing (which corresponds to a so-called ferrule) in which V-shaped grooves are formed at the positions corresponding to each of lenses of the lens array, ends of optical fibers are inserted in the housing as the optical fibers are accommodated in the V-shaped grooves, and thereby accuracy in aligning the optical axes of the lenses and the center axes of the optical fibers is improved.